Lower-Cost Domestic IT Sourcing: A Public-Sector Strategy?

"We are all competing in a global market -- the fight for customers,
capital, jobs and resources is now on a global scale. The distributed
global IT services delivery model is accelerating and irreversible."

"We are all competing in a global market -- the fight for customers, capital, jobs and resources is now on a global scale," says a new study by ITAA. "The distributed global IT services delivery model is accelerating and irreversible.

"While offshoring of IT-related services has become one of the most dominant industry trends over the past 15 years," the report continues, "this has led to vigorous debate among industry, government and the media on the impact of globalization on U.S. innovation and the socio-economic effects on the U.S. workforce, as well as what steps might be needed to protect U.S. jobs, intellectual property and security."

IT services providers that focus on public sector customers -- and who are often prohibited from using offshore resources, said the executive summary "have been examining ways to deliver more cost-effective IT solutions domestically." Thus the report: Lower Cost Domestic Sourcing: A Niche Opportunity for the US says the U.S. can further boost IT employment and sharpen its competitive edge by turning to locales not known as technology centers.

An executive summary of the report is available online. Complimentary copies of the full report are available to government officials, according to a letter in the summary.

Wayne E. Hanson served as a writer and editor with e.Republic from 1989 to 2013, having worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and Digital Communities. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education.